The Seattle Times is a winner of 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting- as it so nicely states on its homepage. After viewing the site for myself, I must agree it is a very good news source for the locals of Seattle- and anyone looking to branch out of their own city/town. Like any other local news site it offers local news, nation/world, and of course, what Seattle is known for is its integration of cultures and entertainment. The site is easy to use, and the set up and appearance is very similar to the Orlando Sentinel– a little bland, but providing just enough images to draw in the reader. One particular blog caught my attention, titled Restless Native. He offers a bit of a cynical tone in his blog, but his postings are quite the insight on Seattle.
Recently I came across a blog site titled TheBlogIsMine.com:The World News Blog. The site provides exactly what it states. I find the homepage visually stimulating and easy to maneuver. For example, there are links provided to World&U.S.News which has a variety of stories such as Barack Obama Set to Launch 2012 Election, and European Union Plans to Ban Cars in Cities by 2050. There are also links to Social & Media Blogs, Technology and even Arts & Culture. Personally, I like the set up of this blog site because of its variety on news. The blog site leaves no room for white space, filling it with images, and a few small advertisements. I would recommend using this blog as a news source.
Video by Brandi Broxson and Melissa Colon
I found a very useful site called Topix that allows the user to type in their zip code and read news within their proximity. The link I provided leads to news in the Orlando area. The main page in my opinion is a little bland. There are no graphics provided with the links under Recent Orlando News and Discussions. When the user scrolls down on the Orlando page, at the bottom there is a list and a link to Top Stories. The stories are linked to a variety of news sources. For example, the link for stories on Libya provides a list from news sources such as CBS and the LA Times. I think the Topix site is good for narrowing down the news search based on a certain topic or region. However, as far as the appearance of the site is concerned as far as the lack of graphics it may turn some users away.
Personally, I have never heard of The Blog Herald. I came across the site through my Google search of “news blogs”. I thought the web site was going to consist of hard news blogs such as the U.S. involvement in Libya. However, the title of the Blog Herald expands beyond it’s literal meaning. All the news blogs pertain to social media. For example, the first story listed on the main news page is titled Flicker Gets Cozy With the iPad,Adds Expanded Lightbox Support. The site also provides feature stories, reviews, and even an editorial page. Although the site is not providing national news on politics, I still consider it an easy to use news site that is very informative about social media. It is especially helpful for individuals who feel they just cannot keep up with the ever changing world of the internet.
As I was browsing for news articles on Google I came across a news site called The Uptake Will Journalism be done by you or to you. Maybe I am late on finding this site, but it is a great site. The site prides itself on being an alternative choice to mainstream media as stated in the about page. It is a collection of news coverage with the use of video uploaded by common people. For example, their is a 12 minute and 17 second video of 4th CD Congresswoman Betty McCollum visiting a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota and speaking in their defense.
The site is based out of Minnesota therefor a lot of the main stories are related to the state of Minnesota. For example, when clicking on the link to world news the main story reads Minnesotans Rally for Libyan Freedom.
The site offers a link for readers to upload their own videos and also the opportunity to suggest a story.
Personally, I think this is a great example of converged journalism. Not only is it a great example in the way that converged journalism is technologically the modern day journalism, but the absence of mainstream media shapes the future of journalism in that it is not censored by money.
The New York Times web site has posted a story by David D. Kirkpatrick and Mona El-Naggar regarding the protests in Libya. The story is a three page informative piece providing an abundant amount of links to better comprehend the news. Links about Muammar el-Qaddafi, information about Egypt’s protests and also a timeline of the protests in Libya. On the last page there is also a list of related news articles the reader can click on and view. I think story does an amazing job at providing the reader with extra information. However, because the story is so long it can appear overwhelming to read. This type of story could have definitely used subheads and also links to video regarding the protests. There is no better link than to link a story to globalvoicesonline.org in which a post on this site provides three videos of the protests. Just a warning: the first video is a bit gruesome.
I have been keeping up with H.R. 3 , and some sites have provided links to other sources. However, the individual who did this entry was a bit bland with their article. They linked an entire paragraph to statistics, which is good that they provide background information, but I think there could still be more. For example, simply tracking it on this government site could have added to article. Also, the writer mentions Jon Stewart, and Jon Stewart had one of his co-stars speak on the subject. This was actually quite funny, if I may add. I applaud the writer for writing about the subject, but I think there could have been more links regarding the issue.
As a musician, I am always wanting to find new music that inspires. Therefor, I am grateful to have discovered Yours Truly, a music blog that exists at the intersection of creator and consumer as it so cleverly states in the Who We Be page. The blog provides a variety of pages: Latest which features new music available for listening or viewing, Listen which is strictly mp3’s, Watch which of course is strictly videos, and Yours Etc that lists upcoming events to the benefit of those living in California (where the blog is based out of). If clicking and scrolling to the pages is too overwhelming, one can also listen to music at random by clicking playlist on the right side of the either page. Definitely check it out if you are looking to be the cool kid who heard of the band before your friends.
While looking for other blogs to post and share through mine I found a journalism organization that really intrigued me. The site is globalvoicesonline.org and it consists of more than 300 bloggers around the world “who work together to bring you reports from blogs and citizen media everywhere, with emphasis on voices that are not ordinarily heard in international mainstream media”. There is a tab on the homepage titled countries which allows the user to select any country they desire to read a blog post from. For example, there is a blog post titled Greece: Uproar over a plan to build border fence and expel migrants that also provides a link to the writer’s Asteris Masouras blog . The site offers an English translation as well as to 54 other languages such as Spanish and Vietnamese. The site itself is not visually astonishing, but it is easy to use in my opinion. A user is able to search by topic such as Arts and Culture or Economics. It is incredible to see what is happening around the world through other people’s eyes as opposed to our regular corporate media.
Melissa's Blog 